Jeff Sessions praises Trump; stays mum on future in Montgomery speech

If Jeff Sessions holds any resentment toward his former boss, he's keeping it hidden. 

The former attorney general and U.S. senator — and possible 2020 challenger to U.S. Sen. Doug Jones — praised President Donald Trump in an 18-minute speech before the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce, his first since being asked to resign last month. 

"This very public adventure, I have to say, exceeded my expectations, I have to tell you," Sessions said before about 600 people at The Renaissance Hotel on Tuesday. "I’m proud of Trump’s policy agenda, and proud to have a part in it."

Sessions, who joked that he doesn't "follow the (president's) tweets as closely as I used to," argued the president was frustrated by "an inability to move the bureaucracy to achieve what he believes ought to be achieved fast enough." 

"As Kanye West has said, he has dragon energy," Sessions said. "I think that's a good description of him, actually."

The speech, which focused on Sessions' work as attorney general, did not give any explicit hints toward the former senator's future political plans, though it did not sound like a valedictory.

Sessions' laudatory remarks about Trump came after almost two years of relentless criticism from Trump over his decision to recuse himself from an investigation into Russia influence on the Trump campaign in 2016. Sessions, who backed Trump early in the campaign and later served as a surrogate, recused himself from the investigation in 2017; he had meetings with Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak, which he did not disclose during his confirmation hearing. 

Trump belittled Sessions' decision in interviews and tweets. Sessions generally took the criticism in silence — though he offered his resignation on at least two occasions — but an interview Trump gave to "Fox and Friends" in August provoked pushback.

In the interview, Trump said Sessions "took the job, then he said, 'I'm going to recuse myself,'" Trump said in the interview. "I said, 'What kind of a man is this?'"

Sessions released a statement saying he would "not be improperly influenced by political considerations." 

The former senator did not mention the controversy or the Russia investigation during his speech, which focused mostly on his time as attorney general. Sessions focused chiefly on law enforcement; the opioid epidemic and efforts to promote socially conservative issues — though he said very little on illegal immigration, one of his signature issues. 

"Violent crime overall declined again, and will fall noticeably again this year," he said. "There was a 12 percent drop in opioid prescriptions."

Other Republicans, including U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne, R-Mobile and Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh, R-Anniston, are potential candidates for the Republican nomination.